Last week on Reunion in Legio I: The Roman first legion prepares to besiege a Celtic fortress.

And now episode one: “Aeneas”

Aeneas came from a family of great soldiers. His father had commanded the sixth legion; his grandfather had commanded the twentieth legion, and there were many more in his family line. Aeneas didn’t like that if he enlisted he would be given his first command within a week of leaving training camp. He was young and wanted to prove himself on the front lines. So when he enlisted he went under the name of Augustinus Antius. He had imagined working up through the ranks and becoming a hero of Rome riding a magnificent black steed into battle with a legion behind him, his armor glinting in the mid-day sun, his sword as sharp as an Eagle’s talon
Yet two years later he was still just Aeneas. Not a legate charging into battle. Not even a Decanus, the lowest ranking officer in a legion. He had imagined himself having dinner parties with the emperor, making public appearances, and leading victory parades. Instead he always was assigned the least desirable jobs like mucking out the stables and digging trenches. He was always on the night watch where if he fell asleep he would be executed. He always got the worst seat possible during plays and gladiator matches. He had had a few friends in basic training but they were reassigned to other legions.

One night as he was on the night watch half asleep contemplating his life and the beautiful soft bed he would be in right now had he used his real name, he prayed to the gods for something interesting to happen within the next week. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into…

The next day the legion had set up camp a few hundred yards away from the fort they were to besiege. The engineers had already set up massive siege ballistae, machines larger than houses ready to hurl huge stones at the walls of the enemy fort. The siege crews were all set to fire the first volley. Everything was primed and tensioned. The wooden monsters creaked and groaned as their massive arms were cranked back into position. With the flick of a lever the siege would begin.

A scroll with the words “Surrender or be obliterated” was loaded into one of the smaller siege ballistae in a small clay pot. The siege crew took aim and fired the weapon. The arms made a loud clack as they hit the padded stoppers. The clay pot soared through the sky and landed in the middle of the enemy’s court yard. One of the barbarian warriors took the message to the chief of the fortress. Within a few minutes the huge iron gates clanged shut. The siege had begun.

The entire valley was ready to erupt into chaos at any moment. The siege engines were ready to rain stone upon the enemy. The legionary’s weapons had been sharpened and their armor polished. Tomorrow the gates of the legion’s fort would open and the attack would commence. The officers were making a speech to their troops. The senior centurion of Aeneas’s cohort had stepped up to the podium. His elaborate bronze armor glinted in the morning sunlight, just as Aeneas had imagined himself. This moment struck him hard as he knew it could have been him on top of that podium right now had he used his real name. Aeneas looked hard at the senior centurion. He looked familiar somehow as if Aeneas knew him. Aeneas dismissed the thought and formed ranks with his fellow legionarys.